The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has said the commission will not support any political party or candidate in the 2027 elections.
Amupitan made this known on Tuesday while signing the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns organised by the National Peace Committee in partnership with The Kukah Centre.
The event was held a day before the official start of campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections.
The INEC chairman assured Nigerians that the commission would conduct a transparent and credible election.
Amupitan said, “Let me state unequivocally that INEC has no interest in who wins or loses any election. The Commission does not have a candidate, nor does it favour any political platform. Our only interest is a lawful, transparent, credible, and inclusive process.”
He also assured Nigerians that INEC would not allow itself to be compromised during the electoral process.
The INEC chairman urged political parties and their candidates to focus their 2027 campaigns on issues instead of personal attacks, character assassination and inflammatory comments.
He said campaign discussions should focus on areas such as economic development, national security, infrastructure, healthcare, education and social inclusion.
Amupitan said the Peace Accord was signed at an important time because it would help set acceptable standards for political campaigns before their official commencement on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
Speaking about preparations for the 2027 elections, the INEC chairman said the commission was improving its logistics and operational capacity to deploy about 1.4 million ad hoc staff to more than 176,000 polling units across Nigeria.
He said INEC had spent the last eight months improving its technology, logistics and training of personnel. He added that the commission had also learnt from recent elections held in Anambra State, the Federal Capital Territory, Ekiti State and Osun State.
Amupitan stressed that conducting a credible election was not the responsibility of INEC alone, saying all stakeholders had important roles to play.
“As I have often said, INEC cannot deliver a perfect election alone. An election is a multi-stakeholder venture. We provide the pitch and the refereeing, but the quality of the game depends on the players,” he stated.
He urged political parties and candidates to follow the rules and conduct their campaigns peacefully.
“Peace is not the absence of competition; it is the presence of rules and the willingness to abide by them. Let us compete vigorously, but let us compete decently. Let us remember that at the end of this exercise, there will be no winners if Nigeria is the loser,” Amupitan said.
